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Ghost in the woods
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#1
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@Illidan @Kavik so they can meet :D

The sylph picks her way back to Kavik on delicate steps, sepia eyes glancing to the side periodically as if to make sure the storm cloud Illidan has not vanished.

The couple had moved on from the willows after the storm had passed and found a smoother section of the Qeya to cross. They'd spent the night before under the stars in a nearby clearing; in the day it was encircled by some variety of decidous trees(oak perhaps) that provided some much needed shade. It was hotter here than the Sanctuary and Liri's thick arctic pelt did not agree with the climate. 
At the center of the clearing, Liri stops and rests the half-eaten turkey upon the grassy ground.

Along the way, the sylph had sniffed Illidan over and familiarized herself with his scent. There was no hint to whose son he might have been hidden in his coat, only the scent of himself and the wilderness that clung to her own pale coat. Any hope she had of reuniting Illidan with his family was stamped out by this but the girl keeps it off her face. She shoots the boy a smile, nudging him with her nose in encouragement. 

Kavik is somewhere nearby and she calls for him, a soft howl that tells him she has someone with her. She is dwarfed by the huge male, Illidan is practically smaller than the giant's head. He doesn't seem like an easily frightened pup; still, she hopes Kavik has enough caution to approach the feral boy carefully.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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#2
Kavik had been checking out the area while Liri went to get food. He needed to make sure they weren't in for any surprises while they took a little bit to rest and eat. So far, they hadn't run into any trouble, but his anxiety constantly invaded his thoughts, and he couldn't help but wonder when their luck would run out. 

He froze at her call, panting from the warmth of this new place. Her call informed him that she was not alone, and his jaw tightened anxiously as his mind filled with possibilities. He immediately made his way to her, feeling some relief when his eyes met her form. But, he didn't see anyone with her? He looked around briefly before his gaze fell on...a pup? How? He sighed. Of course his healer had brought back a stray. 

Slowing his pace some so as not to startle the child, he closed the remaining distance between them. When he reached Liri, he nuzzled her cheek in greeting before giving her a concerned look. "Where did he come from?" Kavik asked giving the boy a troubled glance. Where were this child's parents? It was not safe for a pup this young to be out alone; At least, he assumed he had been out alone if he had come back with Liri.
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the gunslinger
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The woman led him back to where he supposed she was staying with her mate. His legs were tired, and his eyes felt heavy by the time they had returned. Illidan was not fond of traversing; he had done enough in his first few months of life to last him. Still, it seemed as though the pallid woman was drawing close to her destination, and the boy felt his heart lift with the prospect of stopping for a short while. They had gone far enough, he felt. Ephraim must have been close.
 
An inky figure approached them; green eyes shimmered from a dark mask. Illidan looked at him with bristling fur and his tail lifted slightly. As exhausted as he was, the boy was not keen on unfamiliar faces. This one reminded him faintly of the dark wolf who had turned them away from Easthollow. Illidan did not know that wolf, but he despised him. It was their fault that Ephraim had gotten lost! It was all their fault that he was now lost too. All he could do was blame in his youth.
 
Staring at the dark wolf, Illidan felt his chest rise and fall with adrenaline coursing through his youthful frame. The inky male was talking about him – not to him – and he felt as though he was unwelcomed there. Fearful that this male would be like the wolf who had turned his family away, Illidan braced himself to be sent back into the wilds.
Ghost in the woods
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#4
Liri is the first to sense the tension as Kavik approaches. The harsh tang of aggressive fear emanates from the sooty coywolf and for a moment she fears the feral child will bolt. Instinctively, the would-be mother shifts so that he is half hidden behind her protectively. 

"This is Illidan," she says, a defiant lift of her chin present as she momentarily ignores his question. The healer fears, given his not so warm welcome, that he doesn't want the boy and will turn him away. The determined set of her jaw and the way she holds herself before Illidan clearly states she will not permit this. "I found him by the river." 

"He's going to be traveling with us. That's okay with you, right?" The question might have been meant for Kavik but she included Illidan, turning to him and brushing her muzzle against him hesitantly - seeking to comfort him but not wanting to push him farther.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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#5
He sensed the pup's tension in response to his own and tried to calm himself a little. He hadn't meant his tone to imply any ill-will towards the child. 

Seeing Liri move to protect the boy from him was like a kick to the gut. Apparently he needed to get himself in check before fucked all of this up. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, and it was directed at both of them. "I'm just..." being an asshole? he thought briefly before continuing, "...worried. I'm sorry if I took it out on you guys." He especially hated that he had made Liri question whether or not he would turn away a lost pup clearly in need of help. 

"Of course that's okay." He said as he glanced at Illidan. He moved to lie down in front of the pup, so he would hopefully seem less threatening. Softening his voice as much as he could, he asked "Where did you last see your parents?" Maybe it was somewhere close and they could reunite him with his family.
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the gunslinger
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The white wolf introduced him and took a protective stance in front of him. Illidan watched as her chin rose to meet the expression on the dark man’s face. Liri had said he was nice, but the hooded youth did not imagine this was what nice men behaved like.
 
All at once, the gruff nature of the other man fell away and he swiftly apologized. The strange young boy held his ground where he was and drew his skull upward to meet the man’s expression. It was then that Kavik lowered himself toward the ground and looked at Illidan with concern on his features. It was strange, this behavior of adults, and though he was not familiar with it from his own parents, he accepted it from these strangers. It was a matter of getting where he needed to be and finding who he needed to find.
 
The man asked him where he had last seen his parents and Illidan furrowed his youthful brow before frowning thoughtfully. Turning his head, the boy sniffed and then turned back to face Kavik with a perplexed expression. “Dunno… there was foxes,” he answered in a soft voice. Illidan remained stern of expression in spite of his age, watching the features of the green-eyed wolf with curious intent.
Ghost in the woods
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Liri could do little else but nod when Kavik apologized, accepting it, and merely watched as he moved closer. A speckled ear flicks back to catch Illidan's hushed words and a crease forms between her eyes. 

For a moment she thought again of the tangled forest where she'd found her first home amongst the shadows and the cries of foxes. If Illidan truly meant the forest she thought of, the one she'd taken her name after, Liri thought that his family might not have moved on without him. Even if they did return the child to Blackfoot Forest, it would be empty as the day she left - reclaimed by the vixens. 

"Do you think they might have stayed there? In the forest, waiting for you?" She asks anyways, forgetting to explain herself. She had to ask at least. The sylph couldn't just walk away with the child. Their little group didn't need raging relatives coming down on them. At the very least, they'd have to look before moving on.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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Foxes? Kavik met Illidan's eye contact, his expression thoughtful. He didn't feel like that narrowed it down much, but Liri seemed to make more sense of the child's comment because she asked Illidan about a forest. He remembered that Liri had traveled a lot of this area; so, maybe she knew the area to which Iliidan was referring? If she did know, maybe they would be able to find the boy's parents.

Kavik's gaze moved to Liri questioningly before it fell back on the pup as he waited for him to answer.
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the gunslinger
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The pallid woman asked if his family might be in the forest nearby waiting for him. Illidan searched her face with a quiet expression of thoughtfulness. He hadn’t even been certain they had been in a forest. He knew that there had been trees, but he didn’t know what the difference was between an area with trees and an actual forest. Most of his life had been limited to the grotto by the sea, and he could not have even expressed how very much he missed it there. The hooded boy thought for a while, his youthful brow creased with the prospect of what she had suggested.
 
“Maybe. Ephraim lost… dad lookin’ for Ephraim,” he answered her after his deliberation. Illidan knew that his father had been frantically searching for the sandy boy and that his mother had been wracked with grief at the thought of having lost him. Illidan didn’t know if they would have stayed or if they would have moved on in search of his brother. Perhaps it was a silly assumption, seeing as he had gotten himself lost too. It had seemed very important to his parents that they find Ephraim, though, and Illidan had warped that considerably. In his mind, he was second best to his brother.
 
“Maybe they gone…”
 
The thought was disheartening to him. He didn’t know if he would ever see them again, but he knew that he wanted to try to find his brother, so they could go back to being a family. Illidan was determined in this, and his heart was telling him that the white wolf before him would assist in locating the lost member of his family.  
Ghost in the woods
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Liri nodded, a dawning realization of who Ephraim must be creeping over her like fog. Her heart gave off a small concerned pang, thinking of two or maybe even more lost children. Anger was there too, simmering beneath her breast bone with indignation. Who could be so careless to merely let their young ones walk away

Her heart broke at his words. How did they let him go? Why did they not look for him? 

"Well," she says after a moment, entirely too thick for her measured tone. "We'll just have to go look and see then," Liri murmurs after clearing her throat. Her gaze finds Kavik, questioning him silently. The healer doesn't want to backtrack but she can see no way around it.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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Kavik's brows drew together in concern for Illidan as he did his best to answer Liri's question. He thought maybe Ephraim was another part of the pup's lost family, and he genuinely wanted to help him find them. It would mean putting their plans on hold momentarily while they searched, but it would be worth it if they could reunite Illidan with his family. 

He met Liri's unasked question with a small nod, having already pretty much coming to the same conclusion. Kavik touched his nose to the coywolf's dark face, offering comfort. "Don't worry, we'll help you try to find them." 

He stood then, and gave Liri a quick nuzzle sensing her distress for Illidan. "Let's get going," he said with a quick lift of his head in their intended direction. He didn't see any reason stay here any longer.
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the gunslinger
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Going back wasn’t really the option he was looking for, but the young pup had no real means to tell the female that she was wrong. He looked at her with blinking yellow eyes and found himself perplexed at the thought of needing to go back in order to find his family or his brother. The goal was to locate Ephraim and find where his mother and father had wandered off to. Illidan would have felt so very pleased with himself to have located his sibling before them. He was sure that once he found his sandy littermate, he would surely be the favorite child and they could all go back to being a normal family again.
 
The dark male seemed to breathe words of encouragement to the dark-hooded youth. Illidan nodded his head at Kavik and then looked to Liri expectantly, waiting to see what else they would want him to do. In that moment, the boy realized just how tired he had grown and wondered when they would find a place to stop and rest. With his sights set, he was quiet while he searched the faces of the two adults to see where they would go next.
Ghost in the woods
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#13
Liri could see no sign of approval nor of dismay at the option they presented; Illidan seemed indifferent to returning in search of his lost family. Her ears flattened with confusion and she began to turn to Kavik absently as he spoke of leaving. Her attention was caught again by the child as he practically sagged with weariness. The fae could not even begin to guess how long he had roamed alone, and it had seemed as if the turkey she'd offered had been the first substantial meal he'd eaten in some time. Illidan's wiry form was sharp with coyote heritage but it was made even sharper with hunger. 

The healer, concerned, got to her feet and approached her giant with a soft exhalation of a bark, tipping her head beneath his to stop him if allowed. Given that she had his attention, the sylph gestured to the tired child with a sweep of her pale muzzle. "I fear he can go no further, love," she says it softly, so only Kavik might hear. 

"Let's stay here a bit,so he can rest." Her dark eyes are pleading but they also hold a knowledge. This was to be their first lesson. The couple must take up a slower pace with the addition of Illidan; they will have to take more rests, hunt more often, be particularly vigilant. This was Kavik's first task - he would learn the needs of children firsthand; they both would. For better or worse, they would be prepared for the future.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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Kavik stopped in his tracks when Liri's sound hit his ears, and at her touch, he turned to look at his healer. When she pointed out that Illidan seemed too tired to rest, he glanced at the coywolf before returning his gaze to hers and nodding. 

"Of course," he said gently. The pup was probably exhausted. The last time Kavik had traveled, he had only had to worry about himself. He definitely wasn't used to traveling with a child and was once again glad for Liri's presence in his life. He hadn't been intentionally inconsiderate; he just wasn't used to having to look after young life. He would have to try and remember from now on to tend to Illidan's needs more closely. It would mean they'd have to slow their pace considerately, but he didn't see that they had any other choice. 

With that settled, Kavik walked back over to lie next to Illidan, hoping to make him feel safe should he want to sleep. He then looked at his healer, his expression asking her to come lie down next them.
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the gunslinger
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last post from me.


The boy was ready to turn and leave when the white wolf whispered something to her mate and they opted to stay. Illidan felt a wave of relief wash over his youthful frame. He had not been looking forward to trekking anywhere. Of course, most of his youth had been spent wandering across the expanse of wilds in search of a home. His parents had tried their best to find a place for their young to thrive, and it was not their fault that the others had been so challenging. Illidan would resent the wolves of Easthollow for as long as he remembered the incident.
 
The dark male moved to rest beside Illidan. The boy looked at him and then lowered himself to his rump, and then to his stomach. His eyes were heavy with sleep. The young feral tucked his limbs close to his frame and rested his chin against the earth with a gentle sigh. It did not take long for him to drift to sleep and dream of faraway woods filled with foxes.
Ghost in the woods
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With Kavik's agreement, the fae feels a strange sense of relief and realizes for the first time that she's tired as well - the travels have taken a toll on her aching legs. She bumps fondly against Kavik as he moved to lay near Illidan, taking up her own spot near her mate.

Drowsy, the fae catches only glimpses of Illidan as her eyes flutter shut. He seems to be asleep or well on his way there, and Liri is close behind him. Her last thought is a vague, concerned feeling before she drifts into a strange, fretful dream.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."